May 27, 2011

"Lang told a Madison police officer at the Motel 6, 1754 Thierer Road, that he had a gun 'to lay out abortionists because they are killing babies.'"

Madison.com reports on the arrest of Ralph Lang, who was arrested here in Madison, about a mile from a Planned Parenthood clinic, after he "reported to the front desk he had accidentally shot a bullet through his door at the motel and was worried that it might have struck someone in the room across the hall."  He reported the gun shot, and he (apparently) told the police about his plan:
Lang told a Madison police officer at the Motel 6, 1754 Thierer Road, that he had a gun "to lay out abortionists because they are killing babies"...
Lang said he planned on shooting the clinic's doctor "right in the head," according to the complaint. Asked if he planned to shoot just the doctor or nurses, too, Lang replied he wished he "could line them up all in a row, get a machine gun, and mow them all down," the complaint said...
Lang had a history of targeting Planned Parenthood buildings. Court documents said he was arrested in 2007 outside a Madison branch, telling officers that everyone in the building deserved to be executed and that police were failing in their jobs by not carrying out the executions....
He said that on Thursday he intended to find out who the abortion doctor was and "do what I feel police officers fail to do."

Asked what that was he said, "Take a gun, drop the abortionist."

56 comments:

kent said...

"I was just cleaning it, and it suddenly went off in my hand!" Ah, how many times a teenaged Bill Clinton would use precisely that same excuse... ;)

windbag said...

Maybe it's just the way the article's author wrote it, but the calm demeanor of Lang is chilling. I oppose abortion vehemently, but Lang is as wrong as wrong can be.

Carol_Herman said...

Too bad Lang wasn't aborted!

Too bad, creeps like this can be "taught" it's okay to shoot people they hate.

Fen said...

I understand. In his mind, the abortionists are murderers.

How many of you would put a serial killer down, if you knew law enforcement would never arrest him?

I know I would. Without a second thought.

Too bad, creeps like this can be "taught" it's okay to shoot people they hate

Its not about hate.

Fen said...

I oppose abortion vehemently, but Lang is as wrong as wrong can be

How many have been murdered while you wait for it to made illegal?

edutcher said...

And, of course, this will be used as the justification to Federally fund Planned Parenthood.

chickelit said...

Garage Mahal will find a way to connect this to Scott Walker...

Fen said...

misdemeanor federal charge of attempting to injure, intimidate and interfere with people providing reproductive health services

Heh. The article states this TWICE, in case anyone missed it. Swallow hard. Because scrapping out a baby's brain is "providing reproductive health services"...

Calypso Facto said...

Deplorable alleged threats and intentions. But I don't understand how, from violent smack-talk in his hotel room, it can be construed that he "interfered with a person's use of a program that receives federal funds."

And since when did interference with the Federal money-spending machine become a felony, and more important than a death threat?

RuyDiaz said...

Swallow hard. Because scrapping out a baby's brain is "providing reproductive health services"...

P.P. is a population-control organization--the last thing they are planning is parenthood. That they feel the need to use false advertisement in their self-promotion tells a lot about the morality of the people running it.

As for this story; I predicted an upcoming Law & Order episode, only he was a foot soldier in a vast evangelical conspiracy.

erictrimmer said...

Is there any other legal profession that carries with it such a stigma that a big chunk of the population approves of murdering the practitioners?

Soldier, perhaps? Police?

n.n said...

The practice of sacrificing virginal human life can only be ended in perpetuity through the process of normalization. If someone employs violent tactics to enforce equal protection, they will win a battle, but they will almost certainly lose the war.

windbag said...

@carol

Too bad Lang wasn't aborted!

Too bad, creeps like this can be "taught" it's okay to shoot people they hate.


I'm not sure you can appreciate the irony of your comment.

@fen

How many have been murdered while you wait for it to made illegal?

Spare me the condemnation. To take you at face value, the question must be put to you: how many abortionists have you murdered in your quest to rid America of this problem? I assume none, so stifle. Your allegiance to pro-life is no better than mine, except in your eyes.

Calypso Facto said...

The handling of this case will make for an interesting comparison to the Wisconsin prison guard who also made a death threat this spring. But since that violent threat was only directed at the Governor of the state, it apparently doesn't warrant the same attention and outrage.

I'm sure the people at Planned Parenthood would be fine if the guy arrested today was "investigated internally" and "appropriate action was taken" that did not include court appearance, jail time, docking of pay, loss of state employment, or any visible punishment at all, really, ala the prison guard.

Lincolntf said...

Psycho. Lock him up and throw away the key.

VanderDouchen said...

Lincoln:
"Psycho. Lock him up and throw away the key."

Why? for wanting to perform a late term abortion?


----someone had to say it...

WV: bricinge:

He finished bricinge up his prison cell door, to remain there for eternity.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I'm pro-life.. and that includes the life of abortionist.

I believe we need to keep fighting withing the bounds of the laws to get Roe overturned.

Intimidation and violence are tools liberals know best.. We don't need it.

DADvocate said...

I oppose abortion vehemently, but Lang is as wrong as wrong can be.

Agreed. No sane opponent of abortion supports physical attacks or killing of providers. Too bad that supporters can't stop insisting that we have a public obligation to pay for abortions. They argue quite the opposite when it comes to religion and many other clear constitutional rights.

Chip Ahoy said...

Lang told Officer Angie Dyer that he did not know the handgun was loaded or how it discharged.
¿
Can we agree that it should not be possible for idiots to have access to guns?

max said...

What if abortion is murder?

Then aren't his actions justified?

Jason said...

Apparently, he wanted to perform a procedure on someone, using a rifle.

Cauphy P said...

As an innocent, young nurse on a hospital ward, I've seen aborted babies born gasping and flailing and left to die in sinks. There's no doubt in my mind that abortion is murder. But why anyone can't see Lang for what he obviously is... a raving lunatic, is beyond me. And anyway, talking about killing people is crazy talk no matter what you believe or how sane you are.

Calypso Facto said...

"Can we agree that it should not be possible for idiots to have access to guns?"

I can hear the op-ed already being written at the Cap Times/State Journal about how this proves that we shouldn't have a concealed carry law in Wisconsin. No matter that this guy already allegedly violated numerous laws in transporting and discharging a weapon and was apparently intending to go murder someone, that statute about illegally concealing a weapon would DEFINITELY have stopped him in his tracks. Not.

windbag said...

@calypso

Agreed. A concealed-carry law would potentially allow a hero to be properly armed and ready to defend against a nutjob like this, if he walked into the clinic.

Remember, when seconds count, the police are only minutes away.

MadisonMan said...

It's always a man.

The Crack Emcee said...

"Take a gun, drop the abortionist."

Now that's what I call a man with a plan.

What a doofus.

Jason said...

There's got to be a cannoli joke in here somewhere.

Milwaukee said...

Maybe concealed carry is necessary so abortionist can protect themselves. The reasons when murder is appropriate are very narrow, and very well defined. This guy was obviously a nut job, and needs serious help.

Too bad Jared Loughner, who was a nut job threatening people, wasn't locked up before he did the deed.

Is this a reflection of the inadequacy of our mental health incarceration laws?

Trooper York said...

It's a good thing we know that the police in Madison would never let their politics affect their activities. Right.

Blue@9 said...

I oppose abortion vehemently, but Lang is as wrong as wrong can be

How many have been murdered while you wait for it to made illegal?


Hell, I don't see you in the news, so what are you doing while all these murders take place?

Also, you're going to define murder as you see fit and then be the judge, jury and executioner? If that's the standard, shouldn't everyone get in on this kind of vigilantiism? I hear the Black Panthers have a bit of a beef with white people... .

Trooper York said...

I mean it's not like they would lie or anything. I am sure that the guy just came right out and said he was going to kill someone. It happens every day. Right.

Blue@9 said...

What if abortion is murder?

Then aren't his actions justified?


It's murder as he defines it. Are you suggesting we let everyone act according to their own definition of crime and justice?

Trooper York said...

I mean after all the police in Madison have a reputation for integrity and diligence in the enforcement of the laws. They treat everyone equally, especially those on the opposite side of thorny political questions. Right.

traditionalguy said...

He has no right to murder an abortion doctor...he's not the doctor's mother.

Lyle said...

Murder is murder. This ain't defense of a third party.

Trooper York said...

If the last few months have taught us anything it is that we can rely on the professionalism and honor of the Madison Police Department.

Lyle said...

Murder is murder. This ain't defense of a third party.

Royal Tenenbaum said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Trooper York said...

I mean they realized that this guy was a loon so it wouldn’t be that they made something up so they could put in the pokey. They wouldn’t do something like that. Right.

erictrimmer said...

Is it crazy to want to kill a person you think is evil?

I admit this guy sounds loopy, but I'm basing that on the quotes attributed to him in the article, not the fact that he wants to kill an abortionist.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

Terrorism.

dbp said...

"Take a gun, drop the abortionist."

Maybe he is just a deranged fan of The Godfather.

Unknown said...

ET1492 --

"Is it crazy to want to kill a person you think is evil?"

You might want to consider that someone may think you're evil.

Fen said...

Hell, I don't see you in the news, so what are you doing while all these murders take place?

I'm not the one who said "I oppose abortion vehemently"

Also, you're going to define murder as you see fit and then be the judge, jury and executioner?

Again, the question no one here will answer: How many of you would put a serial killer down, if you knew law enforcement would never arrest him? You'd just stare down at your shoelaces while he killed again, yes?

windbag said...

I'm not the one who said "I oppose abortion vehemently"

That's not a controversial statement. Vehement is not the same as violent. The same number of syllables apparently has you confused.

n.n said...

max:

Just as when the slavers desired to maintain their right to progressive involuntary exploitation and curtailed the liberty of black Africans, white Europeans, indigenous Americans, et al, there was opposition, but if we wish to avoid a descent into anarchy or worse, then it is preferable to work within the rule of law to counter a regressive order.

It's unfortunate that slavery (i.e., progressive involuntary exploitation coupled with loss of liberty), including generational slavery, is still considered normal (or at least condoned) in many nations, including in many African nations (e.g., Sudan, Tunisia, etc.). It is still a means employed by some Muslim sects and black African elite to subjugate and dominate their competing interests.

The sacrifice of virginal human life was practiced by various cults (e.g., Aztecs) in the past, and it is still practiced by some cults to this day (most notably the secular cult), including some national factions (e.g., China). This is a ritual which is extremely old and entirely regressive. It does not increase the fitness of our species, and it in fact directly promotes the devaluation of human life.

In any case, let's hope this moral imperative will be realized through something other than a civil war. The last one resulted in the death of several hundred thousand people and, today, the nation is just as divided over this "right" as it was over the right to keep slaves.

Blue@9 said...

Again, the question no one here will answer: How many of you would put a serial killer down, if you knew law enforcement would never arrest him? You'd just stare down at your shoelaces while he killed again, yes?

Except that a serial killer is committing murder, as recognized under the law.

A jihadist thinks the US is an instrument of Satan. I'm guessing those AQ recruiters ask the same question: Are you going to do something about it?

BTW, you're effin' hilarious, speaking with the voice of moral clarity-- tell us, what are YOU doing about it?

(apparently if the serial killer is in my backyard, you'll give a long-winded, morally-righteous speech... while doing nothing yourself)

Fen said...

apparently if the serial killer is in my backyard, you'll give a long-winded, morally-righteous speech... while doing nothing yourself)

No. I said I would kill him.

You would damn me for doing so (as you do Lang) while expressing your "deeply felt, intensely emotional" opposition to serial killers.

ie. you're the one who's all talk.

Fen said...

At least Lang had the balls to act on his conviction.

Fen said...

That's not a controversial statement. Vehement is not the same as violent. The same number of syllables apparently has you confused.

I never said I expected you to engage in violence. Read slower.

But since you're tossing it out there: "what have you done about it" other than proclaim you are vehemently opposed to abortion?

windbag said...

I never said I expected you to engage in violence. Read slower.

I never said you did. Read slower.

But since you're tossing it out there: "what have you done about it" other than proclaim you are vehemently opposed to abortion?

I don't answer to you, so I won't give you specifics. I've done more than the average person, but obviously not enough. You can have the last word if you care to take it. I'm sure it will be a sanctimonious one.

TMink said...

He should be locked up. Murder does not justify murder. It is evil in and of itself. Lang is as wicked as those he detests. As such, he is just another part of the problem.

Trey

TMink said...

Certainly abortion is murder, so is murder! One cannot cleanse the other. The way to stop abortion is through prayer and repentence, not through more murder. Murder is not a New Testament tool.

Trey

Ralph L said...

I'm free!

And I'm coming to get you all!

Actually, I'm in favor of legalizing the post-natal abortion for re-asserting parental authority over bratty kids. Wonder if Scalia will go for it.

Revenant said...

This may be the dumbest criminal ever.

Revenant said...

Murder does not justify murder

Most people consider it morally acceptable to kill someone who is about to murder an innocent person.